


The One Where It's a Non-AU Omegaverse

by KitsuneGirl911



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Beverly Katz Lives, Beverly Katz is the Best, Codependency, Fluff, Hannibal's middle name is 'twisted and fluffy feelings', I Can't Believe It Took So Long To Post This, It's still omegaverse, It's the killer of the week's fault, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, OFC Ships It, Omegas And Alphas Are Not Known, Sassy Will Graham, Surprisingly not Hannibal's, The rating will probably go up guys, This isn't an AU it's more of a canon divergence, Will is still planning a private Reckoning, pretty much no one thinks Hannibal is the Ripper, season two went a bit differently, this is no longer a oneshot yayyy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2018-06-01 06:38:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6504769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitsuneGirl911/pseuds/KitsuneGirl911
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will and Hannibal get dosed with something while on a case. Jack worries they're dying. It's actually way more entertaining. (NO LONGER A ONESHOT)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this written since early-ish last year, decided to run it by my beta recently, and welp... here be another non-au omegaverse! There's more of us now omg! This might become a series of sequel snapshots, but I'm not sure, so it's a oneshot for now. Anything you wanna see happen hilarious in particular, lemme know and I'll work it in maybs.
> 
> Melianthus chapter 2 will hopefully be up soon, sooooo sorry for the wait. OTL School is killing us.

“When will they wake up?” Jack asked the doctor with a voice run down by exhausting fear. The doctor, a Miss Tina Baker by name, looked sympathetic to his plight and the unspoken _Will they wake up at all?_ that was rattling around in the forefront of Jack’s mind. They both stood in an eerily silent hospital hallway that connected Will's and Hannibal's rooms, among others.

First Miriam Lass, now Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter. A stronger man than Jack would be utterly broken by the knowledge they were responsible for three bright lives ended prematurely. Tina wondered how the man was still more or less functioning.

“We're hopeful they'll regain consciousness. The compound wasn't a poison,” she informed Jack, then flipped through her charts to double check the prognosis, “but it seemed to have caused some physical anomalies.”

“…Like cancer?” Jack stumbled back to lean heavily on the corner of the wall.

“It seems as though the compound causes the growth of new organs. But here's the interesting part; these new organs are being successfully assimilated into their biology. There should be no dire effects caused by these anomalies.”

“‘Interesting’ is for science projects; these are two brilliant men.” Jack glared at the doctor as he spoke sternly; Tina merely nodded and excused herself to the adjacent room that was Hannibal's. She knew Jack’s brash behavior was a sure sign of the man starting to calm down, as backwards as that sounded.

When she returned to her younger patient's side of the adjoining rooms, Dr. Lecter was stable but still unconscious; Will was just starting to come to.

“Mr. Graham?” Tina asked wonderingly. A small doglike whine was her only answer for a moment, but gradually Will realized where he was and spoke.

“What happened?” Will croaked, mouth and throat far too dry to talk much until the doctor helped him sip some water.

“You were injected with an unknown compound while on a case. It seems you'll make a full recovery though.” While she spoke she watched with great bemusement as Will fashioned a blanket cocoon for himself on the bed; only his face peeked out. But she figured as far as coping skills went, it was rather harmless. “Would you like your glasses, Mr. Graham?” she asked kindly.

“Yeah.”

Tina retrieved the black frames and handed them back to the man, amused when only one arm snaked out rather tentatively to snatch them from her hand. Shields now back in place, Will blinked owlishly up at her left shoulder. Close enough.

“Jack Crawford is here. He will want to know you're awake,” Tina reminded him pointedly, suppressing a grin as Will burrowed further into his nest of blankets. He nodded jerkily a couple times and the doctor went out to tell Jack the good news.

Jack burst into the room not five seconds later. The sudden noise startled Will and he yelped, tucking his head fully under his blankets, shaking slightly in confused fear.

“Will?” Jack addressed the quivering cocoon of cloth on the bed with patent curiosity. To Tina he asked, “What's he doing?”

She had to stifle a giggle. “He's hiding. I think the door slamming scared him.”

“Will, it's me. It's Jack.”

Will's face peeped out cautiously.

“Oh. Hey.” The rest of the profiler stayed wrapped up comfortably.

“Glad to see you're okay, more or less…”

“More or less glad, or what?” Will griped, and Jack broke into a wide, relieved grin. A snarking Will was a healthy Will.

“We still haven't caught this guy. We need your help.”

“Any more bodies?”

“Not that we've found yet. Will, I need you on this one… Are you ready to go back?” Will had to think for a minute on this one, for some reason his head felt wonderfully fuzzy in this warm, soft heap. “Will,” Jack pressed again.

“I'm sorry, what?” Will asked distractedly, settling into his blankets even more comfortably.

Jack had had enough.

“Wake up, Will; people are dying because of this!” Jack stomped forward and yanked at Will's covers. Will made that odd, doglike whine again, and held fast. Beyond tired with the situation and the erratic profiler, Jack shucked the bedclothes completely off of the cowering man. All at once the constant whine grew into a high, piercing wail like a siren. The cry went on and on and both Jack and Dr. Baker were too shocked to do more than stand there with their hands over their ears. A commotion in the adjacent room started up, audible even through the unholy din Will was still producing. The door to Will's room flew open abruptly and Hannibal rushed through. Will's wailing was reaching a fever pitch and Jack was actually more relived that Dr. Lecter was here to shut his terrified profiler up than he was to see that the other man had apparently recovered too.

“Thank God. Dr. Lecter, what's wrong with him?” Jack’s only reply was an honest to God growling rumble from deep in Hannibal's chest. Jack would have thrown up his hands in sheer defeat had he not needed them to protect his throbbing eardrums.

Hannibal swiftly invaded Will's space and pressed Will's face into the side if his neck insistently, stroking curly hair with soft, soothing motions. Will's crying out slowly tapered off and Jack and Tina watched as Will took great lungfuls of air in around Hannibal's shoulder. When Will turned to bury his nose in Hannibal's neck instead of away for fresh air they realized he was literally _smelling_ his psychiatrist.

“...What?” Jack asked numbly. Tina blushed and turned away to give the two men curled up together on the bed some privacy. Jack had no such compunctions. “This is a clear violation of ethics Dr. Lecter! When were you going to tell me about this relationship?” Jack demanded loudly, uncaring if he frightened Will again. Instead it was he who was frightened as that growl started up again, so menacing in its intensity that Jack wisely took a step back. Jack turned to see what the more fearful version of Will thought about all of this, being literally pinned by a growling beast of a man… and he gaped like a mounted fish. Will's expression was beatific and he seemed totally at ease underneath Hannibal. Jack was beginning to wonder if he was dreaming; did he get injected with something too? It was the only logical explanation for this circus.

“This could very likely be a side effect of the compound they were injected with. Maybe you should step back, Agent Crawford,” Tina piped up, still embarrassedly facing away from the bed, but clear headed enough to realize Jack wasn't helping. Jack was reluctant but did as she said; Hannibal stopped growling and just glared at him accusingly. Will shifted below the other man, coming back to himself partway.

Hannibal helped him sit up but stayed pressed up against Will, idly carding his fingers through Will's hair.

“Jack, what the hell just happened?”

“You tell me,” Jack demanded in a flat, restrained tone; he was obviously trying to keep his shouting under control, “How long have you and your psychiatrist been in a relationship, Will?”

“Relationship?” Will asked innocently but Jack's implication sunk in eventually and he flushed and sputtered. “What, no! We're just friends, Jack!”

“That's not how ‘just friends’ act, Will!” Jack exclaimed in frustration, gesturing vaguely at the pair’s current position. Will blinked once and took stock of his situation. He had Hannibal curled around his back protectively, one solid arm holding him securely around the middle, and with the other Hannibal was doing truly relaxing things to his hair.

Once he was aware of the sensations, Will tuned everything else out. He felt so good like this; safe, cherished… Will's eyes went half lidded and he started to make a light rumbling purr in his chest in response to his utter contentment. Hannibal nuzzled his neck and gave his own answering rumble in return, though it was more growling then purring in his case.

The doctor turned to face the friends still entwined on the hospital bed at this development with a gasp.

“He's- he’s purring! Those new organs… one of them is allowing him to purr like a cat!”

“How do you know it's a new organ? Couldn't he just be making that noise with his voice?”

Tina shook her head in numb amazement.

“The sound is separate from his breathing pattern. He couldn't sustain that consistent of a sound normally if he wanted to.”

“Are you saying they were injected with something to turn them both into cats? That doesn't explain the bodies we found thanks to this guy.” The brutality of these crimes was chilling; cats seemed more likely to play with what they were killing than savage it in a rage…

The doctor stood very still and tapped her chin pensively.

“Not cats, per se… Just more animalistic. You saw how Will was when he woke up? He was nesting for comfort! He was easily startled by noises as if on instinct, and he let out a distress call upon having his security ripped from him.” Here Tina glared at Jack reproachfully. Jack let her glare slide right past his conscience with an ease that spoke of years of practice with such a questionable skill.

“So why isn't Dr. Lecter like that? He seems more like an angry dog than anything else. Shouldn't he be more… I don't know, timid?”

“Perhaps the compound only exaggerates previous predilections? I can't see Dr. Lecter as anything but a leader. You have to admit, humans driven by animalistic instincts could very well have caused these crimes.” Tina raised a contemplative eyebrow in Jack’s direction.

Jack considered this for a long moment before turning to Hannibal.

“Dr. Lecter, can you still speak? I have some questions.”

Hannibal looked at Jack so blankly that the man thought the psychiatrist must be unresponsive to human speech.

“Yes, Jack,” Hannibal replied at length, “Though I would appreciate it if you didn't upset poor Will here. He seems to be in a rather delicate state.”

“I've noticed,” Jack commented dryly, shoulders bleeding tension in a clear sign of relief, “I'll assume you were listening to that last conversation.”

“It is the most likely theory. I am certainly noticing some… changes in my thought process and reactions. Will, what about you?” Hannibal tilted his head slightly to glance down at the contented profiler still ensconced in his arms. Will's purring didn't stop when he talked.

“I can't seem to control myself either. This is so confusing…” Will frowned down at the bed. “You said we have new organs, right? Were they finished growing last you checked? Although I'd really rather skip the repeat scans for a while.”

“No, but at the rate they were maturing they might be well on their way to being completely useable by now.” Dr. Baker continued, “Everything seems to be assimilating well, however. I think you might be able to be released shortly. I have to go find another doctor to double check.” With that the young woman bustled out of the room, leaving Jack alone with Will and Hannibal. Jack cleared his throat.

“You might want to let go of each other before the doctor arrives.”

Hannibal's grip tightened briefly before he realized what he was doing and he sighed ruefully.

Will had to suppress a lost little whimper as Hannibal pulled himself off of the profiler he'd attached himself to, but they both managed to compose themselves by the time the doctor appeared.

Unfortunately their physical separation couldn't override their newly awakened instincts. Hannibal sat calmly while the other doctor confirmed his being well enough to be released. But when the man changed his focus to Will, things got interesting again. Will had wrapped himself up again, and the doctor was successfully coaxing him out of his remade blanket nest when Will abruptly froze. Hannibal was glaring bloody murder at the other doctor, albeit sans growl this time. When Will let out a breathy gasp, the doctor examining him paused.

“Mr. Graham? Are you alright?” Will had suddenly noticed a scent he'd never sensed before; it was a heady combination of anger, possessiveness, and protectiveness. How a scent could carry all those connotations, Will had no idea, but there it was. The profiler took a deep breath to get more. The second doctor went to check Will’s pulse but Will shied away as he sensed the anger thickening in the air. Hannibal, for his part, was tamping down the reactions itching to break free of his iron control.

Pheromones weren't so easily suppressed though. Will felt an overwhelming happiness as he retreated from the strange man; the source of that intoxicating scent was pleased with him for it. Will wanted nothing other than to have more of that feeling, that scent. His eyes skittered over the room’s few occupants before settling intensely on his psychiatrist. Unbidden, Will tilted his head to bare his throat in nature’s oldest submissive gesture. He was fascinated as the action caused Hannibal's pupils to dilate incredibly. Ooh, that heavenly scent cocktail just kept adding more and more addicting components! Will's expression turned predatory and Hannibal swallowed reflexively.

“Will?” he questioned, oddly tentative.

Everyone held their breath as the silent but tense moment dragged on. Without warning, Will pounced on Hannibal. The psychiatrist was working harder than he ever had to maintain propriety, and Will was just as determined to discard it. The profiler rubbed his body against Hannibal's shamelessly, whimpering in desperate hope the whole time he writhed atop the other man.

“Will!” Hannibal tried to scold him but his strangled shout tailed off into a groan of bliss. Something smelled sickly sweet and heavenly all of a sudden. It smelt like air heavy with rain, hot and moist and-

When Hannibal's fingers accidentally brushed across Will's ass he discovered the source. Will was leaking some sort of natural lubricant. Something deep within Hannibal was shattering. He could feel his iron control being swiftly replaced with molten lust. Hannibal pushed Will away to suck in great heaving breaths of fresh air.

“No!” he commanded firmly but not unkindly. Will fairly keened and affixed rapt attention on Hannibal's erection. Before, Hannibal had been a very well-endowed man; but this was bordering on ridiculous. Thankfully his shirt covered enough of it to allow Hannibal some measure of dignity.

Tina had rushed back in upon hearing the commotion, and was staring unabashedly, face flushed and lips parted in shock. She knew what her dreams would be like for the next week… Tina looked towards Jack upon sensing an uncharacteristic stillness and silence from the man. Jack Crawford, formidable head of the BAU of the FBI, had shut down; his mind was apparently unable to compute what his eyes were witnessing into anything non-traumatizing. All the first doctor could do at this point was sink into a quiet fit of giggles as she observed Jack stare into space, Will become scandalized by his own actions, and Hannibal staunchly face a nearby wall until he could calm down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love when OC's ship my ships. :3 Tina started out as a nurse, so that's why there's a second doctor randomly... Ugh. If you notice any mistakes I missed with that, let me know plz~ (She switched to a doctor because otherwise she was an omniscient nurse like lol.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, with encouragement from you folks, and some help from my beta, Victorine... I present to you chapter two of this fic! Chapter three is in-progress too! Thanks for your support guys! I guess this can count as a Christmas/winter holiday present, so I hope everyone likes it! MWAH. :*

With no signs of illness or complications with their new organs, Dr. Baker sent Will and Hannibal home with the advice, “We don't know how your new instincts are going to react to your old lives; just be careful as you go about your days, and watch out for high-stress situations.”

Will rolled his eyes- Hannibal looked like he was taking mental notes. Once a doctor, always a doctor. Will wondered if Tina thought these instructions were going to stop Jack from putting them through the wringer to close this case. Judging by her irritated side-eyeing of said agent, he figured she knew what she was working against. Surprisingly, Hannibal all but fled once his hospital discharge was processed. Will watched him go with rising trepidation; if the victims changed like them were capable of such extreme violence, what was _Hannibal_ capable of now? Jack, oblivious to the danger, insisted on driving Will home, like the awkward father figure he _really_ shouldn't have been.

During the car ride, Will was tempted to finally break his silence about the epiphany he'd had once his encephalitis cleared, while still under arrest for the Copycat’s crimes. If he'd sent Beverly after evidence like he was planning to, she would have ended up in Hannibal's house, and then into an early grave. Likely also Hannibal’s fridge. But if Will wasn't going to tell the closest person he had to an actual friend that goddamn Hannibal Lecter was the Chesapeake Ripper, he sure as fuck wasn't going to tell his bullheaded boss. He had long decided to keep his Reckoning between himself and Hannibal. And curiously enough, Hannibal fell completely for Will's manipulative tears and had him set free with a kill owning up to the Copycat murders with the Chesapeake Ripper’s signature. However, Hannibal was still responsible for driving an ever-growing wedge between Will, Jack and Alana. Ostensibly, their relationships should have resumed as normal once Will’s innocence was proven, but they hadn't- at all.

Case in point, Will sat silent and sullen next to Jack, having thought all of this to himself, and stared out of the car window listlessly. Jack hadn't made any overtures beyond the ride, so why should Will?

_+_

Hannibal Lecter did not panic on his way home from the hospital. That being said, he felt very mildly alarmed at his prior loss of his iron control. Actually, Hannibal was more disquieted by the fact that it was _still happening_. All he wanted to do was march over to wherever Will was and swaddle him away in silks and satins so that he lost himself in Hannibal's safety and comfort and purred for him again. It was maddening. Why he craved that sound above all common sense was perplexing. And yet he’d aspired to make Mischa fit to purr (if only she could, it would've been just as precious as Will's was now) with all of himself as well. This equal but different standing between his little lost Mischa and strong, beautiful Will was bemusing; he hadn't realized it until he'd been changed to this instinctual creature, but he'd seen Will as precious since day one. Love at first sight, which Hannibal had thought would be merely a fantasy for him since his sister’s untimely death. _Any_ love in his life was a far off dream until Will; it was extraordinary.

But love musings aside, Hannibal was wondering how else he would be losing control of himself. The killer who had introduced that compound to their bodies had thusly made previously normal men and women tear each other to pieces with their bare hands. Hannibal wouldn't stand to have his murderous creativity sapped by base rage; it was unthinkable. He was on a hiatus as the Ripper anyway, but for his other kills (his art installations weren't enough to sustain his meat supply year-round), that he staged as disappearances or petty crimes- what if he succumbed to that sundering rage during one of those? His freedom might be compromised.

With a put-upon sigh, Hannibal decided to put a halt to any and all hunting for now… unless he came across the simpleton who thought to inflict this upon him in the first place.

_+_

For Will, things weren't much different. He maybe felt a strong urge to nest on the floor with his dogs, but that was actually normal for him after a stressful day. His pack of wayward canines treated him no differently once they adapted to his new scent, but it honestly could've just been the smells of his hospital stay confusing them. If it weren't for his instinctual distress cry, his purring, or the way Hannibal reacted to him now, Will would think this was all an elaborate hallucination. Hell, that option was still on the table. Deciding to deal with this shit in the morning, Will pulled his covers off his bed to curl up on his living room floor with his pack protectively curled around him.

_+_

It turned out he wasn't going to be dealing with this in the morning, he was dealing with it a couple of long-ass, stressful hours later. While Will was aware he dealt with plenty of irrational and rational fears, most notable in the careful placement of his bed on the first floor surrounded by vantage points and easy exits, this was ridiculous. He was jumping at every creak his old, settling house made, half mad with panicked fight-or-flight, and the only thought he kept coming back to was that, _I need_ my _bigger predator to keep me safe_. And Hannibal Lecter was the most dangerous man on the east coast to _everyone else but Will_.

“Fuck it,” Will decided, “He made me dependent on him, he can deal with the consequences…”

Thirty minutes later Will had packed a travel bag with clothes and toiletries for a week, filled a cooler with the fresh dog food he had made up for his pack, and settled himself and his dogs in his car to head for Hannibal’s.

_+_

“Surprise,” Will said halfheartedly once his not-psychiatrist flung open his front door, looking poised to kill. The profiler would bet good money on there being a small weapon concealed in Hannibal’s pajama sleeve. Upon seeing Will standing there rather pathetically, the murderous wind almost comically left his sails.

“Will…”

“Dr. Lecter. It looks like dinner didn't deliver itself this time, huh? Or did it, I'm honestly confused about if I'm on the menu still or not.”

This seemed to spark something within Hannibal, for the next thing Will knew, he was being possessively smothered into Hannibal's chest and being treated to aggressive nuzzling and pitiful, doglike whines.

“Will, I missed you so much, oh my Sweet William-” Hannibal's tearful reunion speech was interrupted by seven canines whining in sympathy for their Wonderful Treats Man at their feet. He looked over Will's shoulder, not easing up his hold at all, and realized he was a) being a poor host, and b) leaving his sweet darling outside where anyone might snatch him up.

With these grievous mistakes in mind, Hannibal had taken the duffel bags from Will's hands and ushered him inside urgently, before leading the dogs into his fenced backyard, all in record time. Will's not-psychiatrist kinda-frenemy then turned to him with lovestruck eyes, as if waiting eagerly for further tasks. Will was tempted by the power he now obviously held, but all he wanted to do was-

“Let's sleep, Hannibal. I don't think either of us has yet tonight, if I'm not mistaken. …Where's your bedroom?”

Okay, even if he wasn't actively working on his Reckoning or looking for hard evidence, Will counted Hannibal's overjoyed near heart attack upon realizing he wanted them to _share_ the bed in said bedroom as a win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clear it up in case it wasn't obvious, this takes place in an alternate season two where Beverly didn't go after Hannibal or die, Will wasn't telling everyone and their brother Hannibal was a cannibal once he settled down from the encephalitis because he wanted the Reckoning to be private, and Jack isn't really all that suspicious about his good friend Dr. Lecter. Matthew was also never sent after Hannibal, so no one thinks Will is a threat to Hannibal. I think that's all I needed to make sure everyone got, but if you have any questions, just ask! :)
> 
> I'm going to be adding to the tags soon, if they aren't there by the time you are reading this. I like a slightly different alpha/omega dynamic than most... (Mainly because injustice pisses me off royally.) It's so cute I can't help myself. XD
> 
> Happy holidays, guys! *throws sparkling snow*


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been MIA lately, guys. I just wasn't feeling my writing. I'm a bit better after the unintended break, but I won't make promises I can't keep. I have not abandoned any of my in-progress stories, and at the very least I would let you know if I had. I've hit a speed bump in CONAD but I'm trying to work on it. This story seems to be doing better for me, so that's why I'm updating this one and not CONAD, though I usually try to get them updated in a rotation. If anyone has any little prompts or ideas for CONAD that don't pertain to the cult, that'd be cool and helpful.   
> Sadly, Victorine can't be my beta anymore, and I'll be forever in her debt, but can anyone take over? I don't usually have many grammar/spelling issues, just plotting concerns. This chapter is unbetaed by the way, so if you want to see what my 'raw' work looks like, chapter 3 here is an example.
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys this! Sorry for the wait, but it's a longer chapter than the last one, so... yay!

Will awoke purring. He had to admit this wasn't the weirdest way he'd ever waken up (rooftop-in-boxers, here's looking at you). It was, however one of the most amusing ways Will has woke, if only for the sight that greeted him. From what Will could see and feel, he was cocooned in satin sheets while Hannibal slept like the dead firmly atop him (what even?) with his usually-perfect hair mussed and arms tightly grasping around the profiler in his inexplicable burrito-wrap of softness. Will clearly remembered climbing under the distinctly un-satin covers like a normal person right before he sunk into dreamland, which means Hannibal thought it appropriate to find some fancy ass sheets that felt like water and keep Will in his bed by pinning his limbs to his body via wrapping. The psychiatrist part of Hannibal should have known Will's sleepwalking days were long behind him; Will bet the man surely knew, which made him want to hear the inevitable excuse all the more.

Things were surprisingly comfortable though, especially after a good night’s sleep, so Will put that thought on the back burner. He was content to watch Hannibal passed out above him. Will doubted that even Alana had seen her mentor like this, and they were sleeping together in both the literal _and_ figurative sense. Mood soured, Will's purring stopped. Hannibal woke up enough to check that Will was still safely ensconced, and made a reassuring rumble in his chest as he nuzzled Will again.

Feeling petty revenge was good enough Reckoning for now, Will asked in a catty tone, “Think Alana will notice the scent of my aftershave soaked into the pillows you two share?”

Hannibal reeled back as if the words were a physical blow.

“Will…”

Will struggled to escape his comfortable confines, pissed off by what he was picking up with his empathy.

“I can tell you want to assure me she means nothing to you, but that is _not_ helping your case right now.”

One arm free, Will made considerably more progress.

“And whatever possessed you to bundle me up like a taco? I was mostly kidding about you eating me last night,” Will grouched.

Hannibal looked absurdly lost when he answered, “I thought it was the best way to keep you safe and happy- next to me. It appears my new instincts have rather firm thoughts on the matter…”

Will's pissed off bluster evaporated at once. Hannibal Lecter was openly admitting weakness to him; something was very wrong.

“Fine, fine…” Will sighed, getting up to head to the en suite.

Hannibal stood and followed him. Will gave Hannibal a Look. He and Hannibal didn't have many boundaries, but following one another as they went to the bathroom was definitely one of them. The look on Hannibal's face now was the same as when Will caught him smelling him (and his encephalitis) so long ago; Will registered it was über-rare for Hannibal to be embarrassed, now that he'd shown the emotion again.

Will's gaze was both soft and sharp as he stated, “We _will_ talk about this when I'm done,” and even Will couldn't tell if he meant it as a promise or a threat as he shut the door behind himself.

When Will emerged some time later, feeling both considerably more awake and refreshed, Hannibal was sitting on the corner of the bed closest to where Will stood, looking every bit a chastened puppy. Will huffed out an exasperated breath and moved closer. Hannibal immediately rested his forehead against Will's belly, seeking reassurance through his friend’s scent and a closeness that he hadn't needed for decades. Will found himself carding his fingers soothingly through Hannibal's hair.

“For someone who loves control, the changes this guy started must be one hell of a paradigm shift.”

“You have no idea,” Hannibal mumbled blankly into Will's midsection.

“Adding what I saw last night when you opened the door to what I know of the asshole who changed us, you must be itching to kill again by now,” Will stated bluntly, knowing there was no sense beating around the bush, “I'm assuming that's why you all but fled the hospital?”

Hannibal stiffened beneath Will's calming hands for one long tense moment, but was eventually soothed by Will's petting enough to reply.

“With some work my darker urges can be corralled again, but in the meantime, I can't hunt at all.” Here Hannibal took a long, deeply savoring breath of Will's skin, which settled him into a purr more akin to an old motor than Will's kitten, and then stated, “But when I find the man who did this, I will end his repulsive existence with my own hands.”

“Figures; talking about an awaited murder gets you purring… If tigers could purr, then that's what this sounds like.”

“Fitting. Am I your tamed man-eater?” Hannibal peeked up through his sleep-mussed fringe mischievously.

Will snorted in wary amusement. A playful Hannibal was outside his frame of reference.

“You'd have to actually _be_ _tame_ for that metaphor to work.”

Hannibal smothered his answering chuckle against Will's pale skin, and both were content to stay as they were until the inevitable ringing of their cellphones.

“Looks like our man has left behind another mess.”

_+_

The scent of the crime scene smacked Hannibal (who'd graciously offered the profiler a ride, seeing as they were heading to the same place) and Will in the face with unexpected force when they approached the bodies. The victims were torn to shreds in the smallish room off the abandoned warehouse, where they were found by none other than Freddie Lounds, who had luckily since been removed from the premises. But it wasn't the enclosed area concentrating the fumes of decomposition that bothered them.

“Jesus fuck, what _is_ that?” Will yelled, stumbling back with an arm thrown over his mouth and nose.

Hannibal chose to only silently grimace; with his sensitive nose, he had some practice filtering out unpleasant scents.

Jack, who was in the process of clearing the scene, looked at Will quizzically.

“Will, you've seen countless murders with much worse decomposition than this one; get your head in the game.”

Hannibal chose to step up to Will's defense, which was a novelty for him, as he usually let Will speak for himself. But the sudden surge of protectiveness would not be denied, not even to sate his curiosity about how Will would explain himself against Jack’s disapproval.

“Jack, if Will smells what I am, it is not the scent of decay that has us so affected.”

As usual, Jack respectfully took Hannibal’s words into consideration. The psychiatrist bristled as Will was slighted yet again. Why Jack's disregard for his star profiler suddenly bothered Hannibal so much, he didn't know. Before, it was an amusement, something that furthered Hannibal’s drive to see Jack pushed out of Will's good graces sooner. Now Hannibal was offended on Will's behalf. _Rude._

“What do you mean, doctor?”

“This area is suffused with something akin to extreme emotions rendered in scent form… The closest thing I can think of that would have this effect are pheromones, but humans cannot consciously detect such things.”

Will piped up grouchily, “I bet it's our new physiology thanks to the killer… I usually get echoes of the perpetrator’s overall emotional state when I reconstruct a scene, but this? This is a play by play written in huge block letters, Jack.”

Jack now looked contemplative, which Will knew to be bad news for _someone_. With any luck it wouldn't be him this time.

_Here's hoping._

“This opens up new avenues of investigation. If these changed victims are all open books, we might be able to read between the lines and find something new that might lead us to this guy.” Here Jack paused thoughtfully, and Will got a sinking feeling in his gut. “You and Dr. Lecter should come to every fresh scene we get- if that's okay with you, doctor.”

Hannibal nodded curtly, still beyond miffed at Jack's treatment of Will, as if he wasn't a sparkling gem but an ordinary dull rock.

Will sucked it up and moved closer, falling into the rhythm of the pendulum behind his closed lids, his analysis now bolstered by the pheromone input soaked into the very air around him.

_I set the stage for I am God to their Adam. These two men are prime examples of my work, once ordinary, now ascended into a higher human state. Their senses are sharper, muscles stronger, and they have the instinct to back up their raw primality. They are naturally dominant now, but still friendly with each other due to their shared fate as test subjects. I will show them that every rational thought they have can be subsumed by unfettered instinct._

_I place a third man between them. This one is the opposite end of the new spectrum, the last to their first. He is smaller, softer,_ sweeter. _They cannot resist. But two cannot split the one and so tempers rise. Posturing fills the air with threatening pheromones, but it only drives the anger to new heights. The third man gives no response through his scent- I've knocked him out so he can't interrupt the combatants. The sweeter ones hold great power over their hyper-masculine counterparts, and I won't risk the tableau I am creating coming to a screeching halt. So the sweet one slumbers as blows are exchanged, swiftly growing vicious, biting and clawing with such force that pieces are torn from each. I watch with fascination, for their self-preservation has dwindled into nothing in the wake of their fury. And so too do their lives dwindle into nothing, blood loss and shock shutting their bodies down as the fight draws to a close._

_The only one who will win here is_ me. _I take their prize for myself, unable to fully appreciate the allure but not immune nonetheless._

_This is my design._

Will surfaced from the orchestrator’s mind with a gasp that brought with it a waft of Hannibal’s scent; the psychiatrist was so close Will could feel the raging wall of heat along his back and side. Hannibal's pheromones now filled his nostrils with dark feelings, a strong desire to get him out of this place and bundled in something soft again, no doubt. But there was something else. Anger. Different but also similar to that which killed these two men; Hannibal felt just as strongly but was able to contain it for the most part. Possessive protectiveness, with a fierce desire to rend all rivals to shreds.

_Shit. I have to diffuse the situation._

“What did you see, Will?” Jack asked impatiently.

Hannibal's dangerous-smelling pheromones intensified.

_Great,_ Will thought, _not only is our victims’ rage affecting him, Hannibal is also pissed off at Jack because of how he pushes me._

Instead of responding to Jack, Will turned and laid a hand on Hannibal's tense arm. “Dr. Lecter, cool it,” Will ordered firmly.

Hannibal relaxed minutely, just enough that an imminent explosion was not on the horizon.

Will went on to explain his findings, ignoring Jack's confusion, “The killer brought a third man here, but took him away unharmed after the other two had died.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Jack, what we were dosed with has developed our vestigial pheromone receptors to full capacity. Just like a dog can know the gender and condition of another dog by scent, we can tell things about people like us.”

Jack seemed to grudgingly accept the comparison, and motioned for Will to continue.

“There seem to be at least two different reactions to the change he forces. Some have dominant personalities and have theirs heightened to hyper-masculine proportions, while others are more… calming, I guess. Our killer introduced the calming man to two previously friendly others unconscious, so he couldn't stop the ensuing fight to the death.”

“Then what started the bloodshed? If these two men were on friendly terms, then why would the calming personality be introduced at all? What is the catalyst?”

“Jack, the third man _is_ the catalyst. This- This is a fight over the only available mate in an animal’s territory. This is the equivalent of dangling one small piece of meat between two starving dogs!”

Jack was unsure.

“A mate? Will, all of these people were men. Do you mean to tell me our victims are both homosexual? We might be able to add this to our profile: he targets homosexual men in the Baltimore area...”

“Jack, these men were straight. They weren't looking to just have sex, they were looking to _breed_. If they can sense pheromones like Hannibal and I can, then they wouldn't have reacted violently unless they could tell the other man was… fertile.”

Will could practically see the cloud of question marks hovering around his boss start to dissipate one by one.

“So if Hannibal is a dominant personality, and you aren't, judging by your distress call at the hospital… We need to get a closer look at your new physiology, Will, to prove what you're saying is a legitimate motive.”

“Jack-!”

“The FBI can't work with scents no one else can experience, Will! We need concrete evidence, hard facts: we need to have Dr. Baker examine you further.”

“Absolutely not,” Hannibal interjected with cold defiance. “Will is not a tool that you can take apart like you own him.”

“Dr. Lecter, I'm not proposing we vivisect Will, just get some scans and blood tests.”

“No,” Hannibal insisted, taking a single prowling step towards Jack before Will caught his shoulder.

“I said _cool it_ , Dr. Lecter,” Will snapped. Jack seemed oblivious to the danger he was in, but Will was under no such illusions. “You have my consent, Jack, as long as I have an out if I need one.”

“Good, I'll have an appointment set up as soon as possible.”

Hannibal growled a little but tapered off when Will tightened his grip on the psychiatrist’s shoulder punishingly.

“Fine, Jack. Are we done here?”

“For now,” Jack said dismissively.

Will had to forcibly steer Hannibal away from Jack. Beverly caught Will's eye with a questioning look, and Will rolled his eyes skyward as if to say _I don't get paid enough for this_. She winced in sympathy and waved goodbye as she went back to work documenting evidence with Brian and Jimmy.

Back at Hannibal's Bentley, Will turned shrewd eyes onto Hannibal's tension-ridden form.

“I'm assuming you'll want to be there,” Will hedged, “But you'd better behave.”

“I will try, because you asked me to, dear Will.”

“That's all I can ask for; I know how hard you had to fight not to kill Jack right then and there.”

“He was being insufferably rude to you. I didn't realize I was being so transparent,” Hannibal said, giving as close to an apology as Will was going to get out of him.

“Don't worry, no one else could tell; your cover is safe,” Will said wryly, before he paused and shook his head. “Though how the _ever loving hell_ no one else sees through your harmless academic act is beyond me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone have any prompts for me that aren't for my already-posted stories? Maybe it might help me get my spark back... Ugh. :( I'm trying, people. OTL


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been super busy because I got a new job in April, and I haven't had much time or energy to write, but I am still updating this story! My mom either accidently or purposefully crushed my writing drive on top of that, but once I realized that's what happened I could move past it, so phew. Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it! I'm going to add the newly relevant tags when   
> I post the chapter after this to avoid spoilers. :)

“Alana, I'm afraid we must cancel our date today…” Hannibal spoke over the phone with mock-sincerity. Will was always a higher priority than Alana... Apparently now even more of a priority than keeping those ‘closest’ to him in the dark about his hobbies. Blinding Alana with infatuation would be harder as time went on like this.

“Is it a patient? Is everything okay?” she questioned with polite worry.

“He was never officially my patient, but that's a close enough guess.”

The strained pause on Alana's end was palpable. Hannibal absentmindedly planned out next week's menu as he waited for her to continue.

“…This is about Will? Hannibal, I'm starting to worry here,” Alana stated hesitantly.

“Oh, don't worry about Will, he is in good hands,” Hannibal replied cheerfully, before glancing at his watch and continuing with, “I’m sorry to cut this short, Alana, but Will needs me.”

Alana seemed about to say something else but switched gears to goodbyes and promises to talk soon. Hannibal hung up his phone and finished getting ready to leave with Will to the appointment.

Meanwhile, Alana was thinking, _Will might need you, but I'm beginning to suspect you need him_ more _, Hannibal…_

_+_

“Okay, let's see what's changed since last time, shall we?” Dr. Baker said brightly, once the imaging machines were adjusted to her specifications. “Just relax…” she soothed.

Will _was_ relaxed, damn it. If anything, after sneaking a peek at the corner Hannibal was darkening with his mood, she should be telling _Hannibal_ to friggin’ relax. The cannibal’s eyes were hawk-like, watching over Will protectively and nigh-obsessively.

Hannibal watched avidly as the first pictures of Will's organs appeared in grayscale on the little screen. _Just as beautiful on the literal inside as well as figurative…_ he thought happily, knowing now that this was the closest he ever wanted to see Will's organs moving in his body. Cutting Will open was unthinkable and short-sighted. He'd rather have his scruffy profiler hale and whole, forever within reach, than enjoy a sublime feast once and live a bleak life for the rest of his days afterwards. Hannibal briefly entertained the thought of sharing that revelation with Will, but even he could see the many ways basically saying ‘I’d rather keep you forever than kill you only once’ could go horribly wrong. Perhaps he could show the sentiment somehow?

Either way, the train of thought was tabled abruptly when Hannibal caught sight of something extraordinary a split second before Dr. Baker gasped.

“Those are…” Hannibal trailed off, head suddenly rushing with blood.

“I can't believe it either!” she exclaimed.

“For those of us who just see squirmy grey blobs, could you two elaborate?” Will asked in his ever-present exasperated tone.

“Congrats, you're now the owner of a new set of female internal sex organs!”

There was a pause as everyone processed that in their different ways.

“Well, shit,” Will swore in a pained and resigned voice, “I wanted to be proven right but maybe not with my own body...”

“Okay, so you have them… Do they work? Enough that a man who can sense pheromones could tell?” Jack wondered.

Dr. Baker looked contemplative, eventually deciding, “Given that they seem to be fully formed and the blood tests will confirm if they are producing the requisite hormones… It's most likely. Only someone else exposed to this compound could tell on the pheromone front though.”

Jack had that gleam in his eyes which spoke of those endless people trampled in his pursuit of justice. Will and Hannibal both tensed.

“Dr. Lecter, do you think you could double check that for us?”

“Jack, that is an incredible breach of privacy,” Hannibal stated firmly, “I refuse.”

Will wondered why the psychiatrist hadn't noticed before, during all the time they spent pressed together and mutually scenting the other. Will assumed it was because Hannibal wasn't expecting such a thing to be mixed in his, up until now, one hundred percent _male_ scent. But Will wasn’t about to bring that up, especially in front of Jack.

“Well, seeing as you were just ogling my organs,” Will snarked, “what’s one more awkward thing added to the pile of awkward things that’s my life right now? Best to just get this over with in one sitting.”

If anything, Hannibal looked both more reluctant and somehow chomping at the bit to scent Will again. But he stepped forward, despite the war raging in his mind, and leaned in… Only to pull away and turn to the avidly watching audience of Jack and Dr. Baker.

“If you wouldn’t mind…?” Hannibal said with an elegantly raised brow, letting his trailed silence speak for him.

Dr. Baker jumped a little and then tugged Jack to turn away along with her. With no one watching, Hannibal finally scented Will’s neck- and his brain immediately fizzled out.

“Dr. Lecter?” Will asked tentatively after about thirty silent seconds of having Hannibal’s nose pressed to the side of his throat. He received no response. “Oh great, I broke you.” Will rolled his eyes. “Earth to Dr. Lecter, come in Dr. Lecter.” The profiler poked Hannibal’s chest none-too-gently to try and jumpstart his higher thought processes. Nothing. _Great._

After all of this, Jack turned back around and asked, “What happened?”

“I think the answer to your question is a resounding _yes_ , Jack.” Will glanced at Hannibal, unwilling to physically push him off, in fear of being dragged back into the cannibal’s cuddly clutches more obviously in public.

“How can you tell?” Jack plowed forward and asked brusquely.

“Agent Crawford, I think Dr. Lecter’s reaction speaks for itself. A medically trained man, confronted by tangible proof that male pregnancy is possible… I’m surprised he’s still standing,” Dr. Baker interjected with a small cough to hide her laughter.

Later, the blood test and the rest of the tests confirmed it: Will Graham could get pregnant. Hannibal was able to remove himself from Will's person by that point, but he was still in a daze from the revelation. Jack completely ignored any implications of this newfound ability, and went back to the case.

“So what kind of person not only changes men’s bodies this way, but also manipulates them into killing each other? If he just wanted the victims dead, this seems rather complicated… If our killer put that much effort into finding a way to change people into this state, why kill them in the first place?” Jack mused aloud.

“He might've started out trying to change humanity into something more primal for scientific reasons… But somewhere along the way he realized the power he had over his test subjects, and he's devolved into what amounts to human dogfighting.” And Will was _very_ against any type of dogfighting, especially if it involved him personally.

“How is he choosing them? The victims have all been males so far, but there haven’t been many similarities beyond that. Age, race, class… There isn’t enough of a pattern!”

“Yet,” Will added. “Dr. Lecter and I were dosed with his compound at his second most recent crime scene, by getting too close to his powder trap for us on the victim’s kitchen table. He’s not unaware of us being on his trail, and he might be getting even more of a power trip by affecting two members of our team… He is definitely going to come back for us at some point, or why bother changing us? This guy seems to love introducing catalysts to volatile situations; I’m almost positive he’ll find a way to do so to Dr. Lecter and me.”

Jack frowned deeply. “So we have to be doubly on guard, watching out so that no one else is exposed to the compound and becomes compromised, as well as waiting to see how he’s going to stir things up?”

Will shrugged. It was a waiting game at this point, and with no way to tell how or when it’d happen, there wasn’t enough cause to spare agents to watch their homes either. Secretly, Will was glad about not being watched by federal babysitters. One, he didn’t want to explain why he’d suddenly all but moved into Hannibal’s house, and two he wouldn’t have to explain their eventual demise at Hannibal’s hands when the killer did manage to get him into that same enraged state that made two of the victims fight to the death. And with Hannibal not murdering as the Ripper at the moment, and agitated further by the changes they were experiencing, it would likely be easy enough to tip the scales is mayhem’s favor. Will could only hope he’d be nearby when it happened, if only for damage control.

Will peeked over at Hannibal, who hadn’t said a word during this entire conversation, and confirmed that the man was still lost on the tides of his thoughts. Will had a suspicion about why that might be, and judging from Dr. Baker attempting to hold in laughter every time she looked at Hannibal’s lightly flushed face, she had the same suspicion. Whether the psychiatrist knew it before today or not, one Hannibal Lecter, most feared serial killer on the East Coast, wasn’t surprised by a medical marvel- he just had a raging pregnancy kink. And wonder of wonders, the one human being on the planet he was obsessed with could now conceivably carry his child.

Will debated with himself about how much of this was because of the changes to Hannibal’s instincts, and how much had already been there. When Hannibal turned his wondering eyes towards Will’s middle before slowly dragging them up to lock, smoldering, with the profiler’s, Will knew he’d be finding out soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, that seemed so short to me, but I am working on the next chapter, so hold on for chapter 5, though I can't give you an idea of when it'll be done, because of the holidays coming up. As for why I haven't posted anything else much lately, it's because I've decided to post stories once they are done for the most part, to avoid things like this almost a year wait for the next chapter. OTL I'm so sorry guys. But! I am writing other things too! And working on an original novel! The novel I am working on actually got me inspired to write more of this, so don't worry about it taking up all my writing time. I hope you all have a happy *insert winter holiday you celebrate here*!


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